26 October 2011

An Interview with an Arm Injury Researcher, Part I

Will is a freelance writer who has written for Camden Depot previously.

Hayden Penn is now a Chiba Lotte Marines in JPL

Remember how we all used to pencil
Chorye Spoone into future Orioles’ rotations? Can you recall the
excitement surrounding Hayden Penn after he struck out 120 batters in
110 innings at Bowie? These were guys who were going to anchor the
next great pitching staff in Baltimore. Unfortunately, both of their
careers were hindered by various arm and shoulder injuries. Penn,
along with falling down a set of stairs and being impaled by a broken
bat, had elbow issues and went under the knife in 2007. Spoone
suffered a labrum tear that appears to have ended any expectation of
him becoming a Major League starter. If Penn and Spoone had stayed
healthy, who knows what would have happened--it really can’t be
over emphasized how important it is to keep your young pitchers
healthy. Fortunately, there’s hope on the horizon that pitching
injuries, as we know them, could be greatly diminished in the future.

Dr. Glenn Fleisig, research director at
the American Sports Medicine Institute, is considered an expert in
the field of pitching biomechanics and was kind enough to grant us an
interview. At ASMI, Dr. Fleisig works with various pitchers—both
professional and amateur—to correct flaws in their pitching
mechanics with the ultimate goal of reducing injury. It’s his work
that’s giving baseball fans hope that their favorite pitchers may
soon have longer, healthier careers. A world in which a pitching
prospects future is defined solely by their ability, rather than
hearing the constant refrain of TINSTAAP (there is no such thing as a
pitching prospect)? I’d take that.

In the past you’ve worked with
pitchers from the Mets, A’s, and Red Sox. What sort of information
are you able to provide them? How prevalent is it that teams
request services like yours?

Pitchers of all levels – from youth
league to Major Leagues – come to ASMI for biomechanical
evaluation. The purpose of the visit is usually two-fold: to
minimize the risk of injury and maximize performance. The
pitcher’s biomechanics are compared against elite pitchers
previously tested at ASMI and then we use our biomechanics knowledge
to identify areas for improvement. We are pretty much measuring
motions and forces such as those discussed in [scholarly research]
papers, but explaining it to the pitcher in coach in a much clearer
way, with videos, pictures, and descriptions. You can see what
the process looks like at this link.

Several professional teams send players
to ASMI, but we do not disclose the names of the teams or players to
protect their privacy. The team or player is welcomed to
disclose that they came to ASMI, if they wish. This is our
privacy policy for professionals and for amateurs.

The key to successful evaluation is the
coach (pitching coach and strength coach). The biomechanical
analysis is simply an evaluation of what is wrong and what should be
fixed. The evaluation is a diagnostic tool for the coach, as
the coach is the one who works with the athlete. I view this as
analogous to an MRI for an injury. An MRI doesn’t fix an
injury; an MRI gives information to the medical professional who is
the one who treats the injury.

What’s the future for the field of
baseball and biomechanics?

Behind the scenes, many professional
teams are now trying to use biomechanics to keep their pitchers
healthy and successful. Some of the teams work with ASMI on
this, and others work with our biomechanists. Biomechanics is
helping some teams and some players, and I predict that this effort
will continue to grow. Think of this as “Moneyball, Part 2.”
As you know Michael Lewis’ Moneyball showed how the science of
statistical trends can improve the performance of players and teams.
The science of biomechanics is now being used to improve the
performance of players and teams. “Moneyball, Part 2” is
actually a very appropriate name for this phenomenon, as the Oakland
A’s were the first pro team is use biomechanics as part of their
program. The A’s pitching coach Rick Peterson started
bringing pitchers like Barry Zito and Tim Hudson to ASMI in 2002 (the
season featured in the Moneyball movie). For more details of how this
started in pro baseball, read this old interview.

So, to answer your question, I think
biomechanics is being used more by some MLB teams than people
realize. I think the impact will become even greater in the
near future. I think the success depends on the following three
issues:

1. The ability of biomechanists to clearly explain findings to
coaches.

2. The ability of coaches to make changes in the mechanics of
pitchers.

3. The convenience of
biomechanical testing.

Note: up until now, a pitcher had to
come to ASMI for an evaluation. Pitchers still come to ASMI
from all across the country, but ASMI now also has the capability to
bring its lab to a team’s spring training facility.

In Part II we’ll talk about
specific types of injuries, along with a look into some of Dr.
Fleisig’s—and colleagues’—published research.

Contact Camden Depot

We look forward to your questions as well as any suggestions you may have for us.

Additionally, we are always looking for new contributors, so if you want to write for the Depot then e-mail us with an example column that you think fits the tone of the site.

Contributors

Jon Shepherd - Founder/Editor@CamdenDepotStarted Camden Depot in the summer of 2007. By day, a toxicologist and by night a baseball analyst. His work is largely located on this site, but may pop up over at places like ESPN or Baseball Prospectus.

Matt Kremnitzer - Assistant Editor@mattkremnitzerMatt joined Camden Depot in early 2013. His work has been featured on ESPN SweetSpot and MASNsports.com.

Patrick Dougherty - Writer@pjd0014Patrick joined Camden Depot in the fall of 2015, following two years writing for Baltimore Sports & Life. He is interested in data analysis and forecasting, and cultivates those skills with analysis aimed at improving the performance of the Orioles (should they ever listen).

Nate Delong - Writer@OriolesPGNate created and wrote for Orioles Proving Ground prior to joining Camden Depot in the middle of 2013. His baseball resume includes working as a scorer for Baseball Info Solutions and as a Video Intern for the Baltimore Orioles. His actual resume is much less interesting.

Matt Perez - Writer@FanOfLaundryMatt joined Camden Depot after the 2013 season. He is a data analyst/programmer in his day job and uses those skills to write about the Orioles and other baseball related topics.

Joe Reisel - WriterJoe has followed the Norfolk Tides now for 20 seasons. He currently serves as a Tides GameDay datacaster for milb.com and as a scorer for Baseball Info Solutions (BIS). He is computer programmer/analyst by day.

Joe Wantz - WriterJoe is a baseball and Orioles fanatic. In his spare time, he got his PhD in political science and works in data and analytics in Washington DC.